Morecambe’s mentality impresses boss Derek Adams in win at Harrogate

Derek Adams hailed the mentality of his Morecambe players after they snatched a last-gasp winner to seal a 2-1 success at Harrogate.

League Two’s bottom club led for 50 minutes through Rhys Williams’ header, but looked to be in danger when Harrogate were rewarded for an improved second-half display when James Daly netted a late equaliser.

However, although the hosts pushed hard for a second goal, the Shrimps struck the decisive blow when Harvey Macadam slotted home in the sixth minute of stoppage-time.

“It’s a huge win for us today,” Adams said, after watching his team record just their second success of the Sky Bet League Two season.

“The mentality of the squad is excellent. You can see that in the way that they work, the way that they want to do well and win games – and that was there in abundance today.

“Harrogate pushed bodies forward and put balls in the box [at 1-1] and this is a difficult place to come, they’ve got a great home record. But, we’ve come away to a difficult venue and got three points.”

Adams went on to concede that Harrogate deserved their late equaliser, but stressed that his own side were good value for their half-time lead after what he viewed as a strong start to the game.

“I thought that we were very good in the first half,” the Morecambe boss added.

“I thought we were excellent in the way that we passed the ball, the way that we got at Harrogate and stopped them playing. We got the first goal – and rightly so.

“I thought that the way we controlled large aspects of the first half was excellent and we rightly went in at 1-0 at half-time.

“Second half, Harrogate came at us and deservedly got back in the game at 1-1 in the 86th minute.

“But then we chuck on a substitute, Macadam, he gets the winning goal and it was a fabulous finish to the game.”

The game’s decisive moment arrived when Harrogate centre-half Anthony O’Connor’s attempted clearance from inside his own box went straight to Gwion Edwards, who then calmly slid a pass into the path of substitute Macadam, who beat James Belshaw with ease.

Unsurprisingly given the painful nature of Saturday’s defeat, Town manager Simon Weaver could not hide his disappointment after the final whistle.

“We deserved something from the game,” he said. “It was a sucker punch right at the death. But, we have to defend right in key areas.

“I said at half-time that I wanted an aggressive reaction, and I thought that I got that.

“Credit to the players for the reaction in the second half, but one slip has cost us.”